Spring cushion construction



Feb. 22, 1944. F. O. CHURCH SPRING CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 3, 1942 INVENTOR PAN/(L //vOC/1u,ec//.

ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 22, 1944 UNET'ED sraxras harem QFHQE SlfRIN G CUSHION CONSTRUCTION Franklin 0. Church, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Dunlop Tireand Rubber Corporation, Buflalo, N. 1 a corporation of New York Application October 3, 1942, Serial No. 460,709

4 Claims.

standard border wire is one of about inch in diameter. This border wire is usually tangent to the upper coil or turn of the outermost springs and is clipped or otherwise secured thereto.

When such a spring construction is loaded as, for example, when occupied by a person sitting thereon, the coils are compressed and the load on the outer coils, under the occupants legs, tends to depress the border Wire.

As the border wire has heretofore, however, been stiff it did not deflect locally but distributed any local weight or load to adjacent coils with the result that this load was supported by a number of coils and formed a correspondingly unyielding support for the wire.

My present invention overcomes this stiffness of the border wire and enables it to be depressed locally so that a localized Weight or load at the border is not widely distributed but is borne by the spring or springs immediately beneath it and which yields with-out an excessive upward pressure.

In my invention the desired yielding quality or flexibility is imparted to the border wire without affecting its ability to maintain the form of the cushion by providing therein loops of a size to permit the wire to deflect locally between the loops, the loops acting in the manner of a spring.

In order to provide loops of sufiioient size to obtain the required flexibility they are made in a vertical plane between the points of tangential contact of the border wire with the turn or coil of the springs. At this point the space below the border wire is substantially free from any obstruction. The loops or coils in the border wire thus permit the length of the borderwire between the loops, which is attached to one coil spring, to yield much more easily than if the border wire were a continuous straight length of wire. As Weight is applied to any part of the border wire the deflection is taken up largely in the loops thereof. By providing the loops in a vertical plane they are kept out of contact with the coil springs and larger loops may be used without danger of interference with the latter.

The various features of my invention are illustrated, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a plan view of an assembly of coil springs and border wire embodying my invention and applicable to seat cushions as, for example, theater seat cushions in which only one edge of the cushion as, for example, the front edge is subject to deflection.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the assembly shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a theater seat embodying the invention and having a part broken away to show the interior construction.

In the accompanying drawing the invention is shown as applied to a cushion made of a number of vertical coil springs l0, mounted on a suitable base as, for example, the base II and terminating at their upper ends in a common plane. The upper turns or coils of these springs are secured at their point of contact or tangency by clips or pig rings I2. A border wire I3 encloses the springs I2 at the upper plane and makes tangential contact with the outer springs to which it is attached by clips or pig rings M.

In the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing, the cushion is shown as rectangular but it might have any required shape.

It will be understood that the plane in which the upper ends of the spring terminate need not be level or flat but may have any conformation that may be desired.

At the front of the seat the border wire I 3 is provided with a number of turns or loops 15 extending downwardly at spaced intervals. These loops are preferably placed approximately midway between the points of tangency of two adjacent coils and, therefore, within the angle bight I6 formed between the points of contact of adjacent springs. This provides ample space for a loop of larger size than would otherwise be available with a corresponding resiliency in the front edge of the cushion.

The assembly may then be covered or enclosed by a strong fabric I! on which is laid a layer of resilient flexible material l8, such as foamed latex rubber. This may be secured to the base II by a strip 19 of webbing or other fabric. The entire assembly may then be covered by a cloth or fabric covering 20.

Through the above invention the border wire may be made as flexible as desired at any particular locality as, for example, the front edge of a seat, by providing loops l5 of suitable size. The flexibility of the border Wire increases quite rapidly with the size of the loops. For example,

- The upward resistance of the border wire, therefore, under these conditions is very greatly reduced by providing loops of sufficient size.

While the invention has been illustrated as a cushion for a seat, it may be applied to loose cushions, in which case loops may be provided on a number of sides to provide all around flexibility.

Having described my invention, what I claim and a border wire secured to and enclosing the top coils of said springs, said border wire having depending loops in the intervals between its: attachment to said springs said border loops being too large to be inscribed in the space between said border wire and a pair of tangent top coils.

2. A spring cushion having vertical coil springs and a border wire enclosing and tangent to the tervals between its point of tangency with said 1. A spring cushion having vertical coil springs upper coils of the outermost springs and secured thereto, said border wire having depending loops between its points of tangency with adjacent pr s said border loops being too large to be inscribed in the space between said border wire and a pair of tangent top coils.

3. A spring cushion having vertical coil springs and a border wire enclosing and tangent to the top coils of said springs and secured thereto, said border wire having depending loops in the incoils, said loops having diameters several times the thickness of said border wire.

4. A spring cushion having vertical coil springs secured to each other at their top coils and a border wire enclosing and tangent to the top coils of said springs and secured thereto at its point of tangency to said springs, said border wire having loops depending in a substantially vertical plane between its point of contact with said coils said border loops being toolarge to be inscribed in the space between said border wire and a pair of tangent top coils and a covering for said springs comprising a layer of cellular rubber.

FRANKLIN O. CHURCH. 

